Learning more than one language at a time?

Is it a good idea or even possible to learn more than one language at a time? Normally I’d say it’s probably better to stick with one language project at a time and concentrate all efforts on it. After all it’s about getting across that hurdle where you are an independent user of the language, when you’re able to understand most everyday situations and make yourself understood.

However, there can be reasons for learning more than one language at a time. In my case e.g. I started learning Mandarin during lockdown when online classes became more readily available, but had to abandon it when I caught Covid and was struggling a bit with the effects of long Covid.

Thankfully I recovered and earlier this year was invited to the wedding of one of my Swedish cousins. What a great excuse to learn Swedish! So the wedding happened (they both said “yes”) and then I asked myself which of the two languages to continue with. But it turns out I don’t actually have to choose. I managed to find a sufficiently different pattern of learning for either, which allows me to keep going with both of them. I use a different method for the two languages and have allocated a different time of my day to them.

I listen to the Coffee Break Swedish podcast when I go cycling or walking which I do to exercise on most days. It comes in a free and a paid version (and no, I’m not getting any commission for recommending them). When I make coffee or tea I use the Hello Chinese app to learn Mandarin. I did eventually decide to go for the paid version and it is well worth it. I don’t know why they aren’t better known as I find the app is really very well designed and even includes voice recognition which tells you whether your pronunciation is acceptable or not. It also teaches you to write hanzi (Chinese characters). In my Mandarin class at the Confucius Institute we were just told to learn them ourselves and nothing was even mentioned about stroke order, which contributed to me being a dropout.

To chill I read “Lallans”, a magazine in the Scots language which is issued by the Scots Leid Associe. If my application for funding for a bootcamp is granted that will obviously also help. Last not least, if you read some of my previous posts, yes, I will be going back to learning Fering, the Northern Frisian dialect on the island of Feer/ Föhr. But that again will intensify a few weeks before I go.

In summary, as long as you’re clear about when and how you learn the languages on your list, learning more than one at a time is possible. Hello Chinese promise I’ll be fluent in three months if I do 10 minutes a day, which I started on 15/11/23. The best method is the method you stick with. This one feels like a game without being simplistic. That’s why I chose it. I’ll report back on 15/2/24.